Stephen R. Wojdak, 76, prominent city and Harrisburg lobbyist

STEVE WOJDAK never asked the impossible.

He might have been one of the city's and state's most effective lobbyists, but Steve Wojdak would not have considered asking a legislator or governor or anyone else for a favor that they wouldn't want to deliver.

"He had a way of putting himself in your position," said former Gov. Ed Rendell. "He would never ask for anything untenable. He knew his stuff.

"You appreciate someone who understands the conflicts you have and difficulties you have in getting things done. He paid attention to the facts."

Everyone who was asked about Stephen R. Wojdak, who died Tuesday at age 76, had similarly good things to say about him. He was an effective lobbyist because he did his homework and knew what was possible and what was not.

"He could have been an ambassador or a diplomat," said Brian Tierney, former owner of the Daily News, Inquirer and Philly.com and longtime friend of Wojdak. "He knew how to relate to people at a level of high sophistication.

"He was older than I and when I was looking at him I took notes on how he handled himself," said Tierney, who now runs an advertising and public relations firm. "He was a great guy, really smart. He knew how to help a client with grace and charm. He commanded a room."

Former Philadelphia Mayor William J. Green III, a friend who dealt with Wojdak when Green was mayor in the 1980s and when both were in the state Legislature, described how shocked he was to learn of Wojdak's death. Green said Wojdak was "able, thoughtful and competent. A nice guy."

Wojdak died in a Boston hospital after experiencing breathing problems while vacationing in Martha's Vineyard with his family.

He served four terms in the Pennsylvania House before starting his own lobbying firm, S.R. Wojdak & Associates, in 1977.

Wojdak was close to former state Sen. Vince Fumo when they were in Harrisburg together, but had a falling out after Fumo was convicted on corruption charges and served time in federal prison.

Nevertheless, Fumo told the Inquirer: "He was a lot of fun. Just about every major big deal in Philadelphia, he was a part of, as was I. We kind of fed off each other."

Rendell was also on the outs with Wojdak when, in the 1970s as deputy special prosecutor investigating corruption in Philadelphia, Rendell indicted Wojdak on charges of trying to secure a payoff to get a student into a dental school. The charges were dismissed.

But Wojdak never held grudges, Rendell said, and they became close friends. "He understood we were doing our job. He might not have agreed with what we did, but he understood it wasn't anything personal."

Rendell said he was always impressed by how close Wojdak was with his family.

"He took great pride in his family," Rendell said. "He was always talking about his five kids, what they had achieved, how terrific they were."

David L. Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast Corp., had the same view of his friend. Cohen and his family often spent time on Martha's Vineyard with the Wojdak family and he fondly remembered sitting around talking after a meal.

"That's where you got to see the real Steve Wojdak - nurturing," Cohen told the Inquirer.

An article in the Daily News in 1992 described how Wojdak had been a three-pack-a-day smoker, but kicked the habit and hadn't touched a cigarette since 1982.

The Daily News called him the "king of clout," writing that "through savvy, contacts, and money, Stephen Wojdak is influencing public policy like no one else."

In addition to running his lobbying firm, Wojdak served on the board of directors of City Trusts, which oversees Girard College and Wills Eye Health System.

Wojdak ran into a bit of controversy in 2006 when he set up a trust that gave two of his children, then 13 and 11, a stake in a slot-machine distributorship.

State law forbids political contributions by anyone seeking or holding a financial interest in the slots industry. Wojdak was for years a generous donator to political campaigns.

When the trust became an issue, Wojdak, although contending he did nothing illegal because the trust was only for his children, got rid of it.

Wojdak's experience in Harrisburg began in 1968 when he was elected to the House of Representatives from the 169th Legislative District. He became chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee before retiring in 1976 to start his lobbying company.

His first client was the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania, and he was successful in securing $70 million in state funds to pay for indigent care at 320 Pennsylvania hospitals.

Other clients included a number of Fortune 500 companies, universities, health-care systems, cultural and tourist organizations and trade associations.

He was instrumental in attempts to change the state's tort-reform laws, and telecommunications and electric deregulation laws. He helped obtain state funds for the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Wachovia Center, SEPTA and Lincoln Financial Field.

Over the years, Wojdak's firm hired former legislative staffers, including Joseph P. McLaughlin, former Philadelphia deputy mayor who managed the Philadelphia business of the firm, and Kevin A. Feeley, also a former Philadelphia deputy mayor, to manage Bellevue Communications Group, founded by Wojdak as a public relations subsidiary.

In 2010, Politics Magazine named Wojdak one of the most influential Democrats in Pennsylvania.

Wojdak was a graduate of the University of Scranton and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

The Daily News reported in 1992 that Wojdak spent a day or two each month "cooking at a shelter for the homeless, but won't talk about it."

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; daughters, Krista, Jessica, Stacy and Madelyn; a son, Nicholas, and five grandchildren.

Services: Were being arranged.